It's over ten times the size of the PakTite Closet at only a little over double the cost. Not to belittle the $1500 price tag, but its size not only means fewer "loads" for smaller items, but it means that the unit can be used for such non-pakitable (is this a word?) items such as mattresses, box springs, couches, chairs, etc.

Certainly not for everyone, but I can see it as a very useful tool in some cases, either in DIY treatment or as an adjunct to professional treatment. I could also see it as a cost effective alternative to container fumigation where that might be warranted.

The big question of course, is can you regulate the heat down and use it as a sauna after the bed bugs are gone?

If you search harder you will also find specifications for ones you can make at home. Sadly they almost all have the same basic design flaw, some worse than others but the rule of thumb is that if a human can find the cool spot a bedbug can because they have the advantage of seeing near infra-red.

Solutions must be reliable for them to be of any value. Of the six or so of this sort of unit that are out there I think only one addresses the issue but that more by mistake than actual design. There is a lot of complex physics to factor at the start or you have to do a lot of rigorous testing to be certain.

It is also worth noting that some of my more consumer based evaluations and in particular "destruction testing" has resulted in manufacturers later admitting to having errors including recalls. It's often not enough to only read the marketing spin.

David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited

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In accordance with the AUP and FTC (legal requirements) I openly disclose my vested interest in Passive Monitors as the inventor and patent holder. Since 2009 they have become an integral part in how we resolve bed bug infestations. I also have a professional relationship with PackTite in that they distribute my product under their own branding. I do not however receive any financial remuneration for any comments I make about products.

HV: David has already tested this unit, if you look at the posts on this old thread:
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It's a different unit. That was the oven, this is the room unit. Also, my understanding is that based on David's evaluation, the oven unit was recalled, and fixed, so no cold spots. Hats off to David and to the company who made changes. Hopefully, the prior experience with David has given the company a head's up to the cold spot issue and they tested the new room unit more rigorously because of it. That said, independent testing data would be great.

It is reasonably well know that I am happy to test and report for free in pre-sales products but if a unit is on sale is test and publish (worts and all). This where some become unstuck and they launch something faulty or think tey have a good idea before testing it to find fault. Being critical of something you invented is hard but it's a skill you have to learn if you want to constantly improve and develop.

Some people are happy with 99% while others aim for 99.999%. Bedbugs are not very forgiving as pests and as such the difference between success and failure can easily be overlooked. This is especially true if the reader is wearing rose tinted glasses.

There are some fine examples out there from electronic bomb detectors to electronic dog noses. Although there will always be buyer beware it's also true there is no need to allow some to make money out of the misery of others. I classify the act of launching a faulty and not correctly tested product in that group and as much as I would love to say it's rare it's the "norm" for some in the pest world.

After all not everyone likes it when someone does not play the silent game when it comes to these things.

The last time I saw one in Jan 2015 the design flaw was still present in the oven and they are yet to acknowledge my findings. I am also yet to receive a "new" unit in order to evaluate it in the same testing process. The status is still at fail.

Richard and David: Ah, my mistake. Since David was still referring to cold spots I thought these threads were talking about the same unit. Didn't realize the units were later recalled for this reason, as the manufacturer is pretty adamant in that thread that there are no cold spots found in the design.

*Correction: Ok, looks like they were not recalled for that reason but some other reason.

Thank you for your interest in the ZappBug Room! Our goal for the Room is to provide a low-cost way to save your furniture and belongings. It is also being used by hotels, hospitals, and homeless shelters to treat potentially-infested items.

The ZappBug Room has been independently reviewed and tested by Pest Control Professionals as well as organizations likeVirginia Tech's Bed Bug and Urban Pest Information Center.

The Room also received a highly positive review from Dr. Dini Miller at the Global Bed Bug Summit in January of 2015. Dr. Dini Miller is a professor at Virginia Tech and a world-leading expert in bed bug control.

Professionals everywhere have been impressed by the size of the ZappBug Room and it's effectiveness. Some of these review are available on our website and other websites. If you would like any more information or have any questions please contact us.

Thank you bedbugger for making this forum a place for open discussion and information about bed bugs.

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*Disclosure* - This post is made by ZappBug, manufacturer of the ZappBug Room, ZappBug Oven 2, and ZappBug Heater.

Note also, we have links to the U of Florida plans for a DIY room heater (for heating furniture) in the Resources page.

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NB: I am not aware of a Zappbug recall.
But 1700 Thermalstrike units were recalled last year:
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Didn't know that, and apparently some older PakTite units were also recalled for fire hazard, but I thought I remembered a thread where some company (I thought ZappBug, maybe wrong) sent David a unit to examine and based on some "cold spots" the company modified their design and called back what I remembered to be only a few units that had been sold. Maybe David can clarify.

To clarify, I tested, I found cold spots in the units design. I have shared the data but not the location of the cool spots. They refute the data and we are at stale mate.

I spend a lot of time working out what others have done wrong because a lot of my case load is previously treated cases. As such and by default learn how systems fail and why they fail.

Now this is why testing prior to the market is so essential and why it must be done is a very specific way when feasible. So long as your testing approach meets ethics standards you can test it prior to it going on sale and use that data to support what you do. It should not be common place to hear that marketing claims "may have been" over stated. The onus is on the supplier to prove that they have done the best.

I mention ethics in there because not all products cant be tested in a way that meets ethics. For example an imaginary 25B product that made you taste less pleasant to bedbugs can only be tested by exposing people to bedbugs and as such is not ethical to test in that fashion. You can report field data but actual lab studies tend not to convey well.

In the case of the more recent PackTite models I have not tested them. I am happy to test them. I can assure you that they would get exactly the same find the cool spot study that all the others have and I would publish the data wort's and all as well. While I happen to like David James as a person one of the things that earned my respect was the fact that he would loose sleep over the results of a test or the verdict of a trial because he has that passion. I have been asked to test something that did not arrive because it failed at the last hurdle a few times and yet when/if its ready he would still spot the machines if I found a fault and take the matter seriously. There are not that many people like that left in the world and as the first to call "full house" in bedbug bingo it may give you some idea.

Yes there should be better testing in place were possible and much better declaration of testing as well. After all recalls due to design issues and compliance should be addressed at the drawing board stage where a UL recall is a separate and different issue. We all know the stories of the motor industry equations to decide recalls based on economic impact, a recall rather that obsolescence and silence is the right way to go if you want to keep a good ethical standing.

In the case of the more recent PackTite models I have not tested them. I am happy to test them.
David

Hey David,
Haven't spoken or seen you in a while. Hope all is well. I'm curious about your statement about the more recent PackTite models. Is there a new Packtite Closet or Packtite that I'm not aware of? I thought you had tested the Packtite Closet.

(The last models I'm aware of are the Packtite Closet (i thought there was only one), and the Packtite Max which doesn't seem to be available anywhere.